ITV’s Sunday evening tribute to entertainer Sammy Davis Jr was a combination of dazzling tap dancing skills and commentary on the racial politics of 1950s and 60s America. Host Bruce Forsyth described him as the best black tap dancer ever – pointing out that the hunched shoulder style differed from the stiff, upright style of […]
Chief Davies-Okundaye is, indeed, a Yoruba chief, but her life story is one of entrepreneurial vision and an independent spirit. She points out that she achieved everything on her own merit after her separation from a husband with 15 wives and 62 children. She is now such a renowned artist that as well as this […]
A new exhibition at The British Library celebrates one of the greatest works of Spanish literature and its accompanied illustrations down the centuries. Imagining Don Quixote examines Cervantes’ novel Don Quixote with the focus on the artwork because it has become the darling of illustrators throughout history from Gustave Dore through to Salvador Dali. For […]
In a week where black actors were snubbed at the Oscars and actor Idris Elba addressed MPs over the lack of diversity on television, two black British actors stole the show in ITV’s £17million TV series Beowulf. Strangely enough, the drama is based on an Anglo-Saxon poem written in 700 AD when black numbers in […]
Artist Joseph Mallord William Turner is regarded as an undoubted national treasure and along with Constable probably the most recognisable name in the history of British art. His status as a master of landscape painting reflected by the Tate National’s guided tours which walk visitors through the evolution of his career from 1789 to his […]
Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel about Napoleon’s invasion of Russia is certainly a book and a half. Renowned for being one of the longest ever written, my earliest memories are of buying a copy as a teenager and being determined to read it cover to cover. The ‘big read’ factor didn’t put me off, in fact […]
As we move into the early days of 2016 last year’s numerous international conflicts, natural disasters, health and development issues remain on the global conscience. The Fighting Extremes: From Ebola to Isis exhibition at the Imperial War Museum highlights the role of the British armed forces in this respect with displays reflecting the range and […]
The Serpentine Gallery’s winter season features the work of Michael Craig-Martin, his first solo London exhibition for 25 years. This 1981-2015 retrospective will prove an interesting sensory experience for visitors because even the gallery walls are colour-coded to match the paintings. Yes green and pink walls. Bring the sunglasses! Since his early career as mentor […]
The latest in the Star Wars saga is a welcome throw back to the barnstorming action of the Star Wars- Empire Strikes Back- Return Of The Jedi trilogy. Directed by J.J Abrams, whose science fiction CV includes Cloverfield and Star Trek, there was always that lingering question about whether he would be able to match […]
OK I’m not going to give out any spoilers but a musical is taking shape which promises to raise many a theatre roof starting with a certain venue in Upper Street, Islington come spring 2016. My interview with John Myatt, writer of Something, Something Lazarus took place at its packed concert preview at The King’s […]
Hillary Clinton Graffiti/Painting Shoreditch By Street Artist Pegasus
